OB dream job - only psych experience

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Hello all,

In summary I..

  • Want to work in OB - my dream job is education of pregnant women
  • have 2 years experience w/ mental illness/drug addiction
  • have no personal or professional experience in OB but its my calling
  • What should I do?!

So the whole reason I became a RN was to go into OB. I moved to california shortly after graduating from nursing school and found it very difficult to find a job. So I settled on a job in an acute psychiatric facility. I am currently working part time at a drug rehab with a very good hospital. I love my job but its part time and its not my passion.

The hospital next to my house currently has about five job postings for various positions in L & D, mother baby unit etc. all of these jobs require 1-2 years experience in the field.

I have come up with a couple options

I could..

  • go talk to the RN manager on the unit and see what advice he/she has for me.
  • Volunteer on the unit.
  • start volunteering at a local shelter of pregnant women
  • get certified as a child birth educator or another certification if that would increase my chances?

Any advice on what my next step should be to obtain my dream job? Also do you think it is concerning that the hospital is trying to hire so many RN's for L & D? My current hospital is up a notch and they have only advertised one job in their birth center over the past two years that I have seen.

Thanks for your help!

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Specializes in Pediatrics/Developmental Pediatrics/Research/psych.

Is there a way that you can use the acute psych and addiction experience to promote yourself? Maybe you can go down to management? I have found that many recruiters and administrators are more open to resume review requests than just asking for a job.

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I JUST got an OB position after years of trying.... I would definitely talk to the manager and make yourself known. The thing is, with only psych experience it will be difficult for your application to even make it through HR. Talk to the manager, tell her that you're willing to do what it takes to make yourself a good candidate and explain your passion and enthusiasm for women's health. When I just got hired my impression was that there were two main things they were looking for (not necessarily OB experience in particular): 1)strong assessment skills and the ability to recognize and intervene when a patient is declining (this obviously comes from nursing experience in general) and 2) the sincere desire for a person to "want to be there". I was told by several individuals that the OB portion could be taught. I wish you luck, I know the frustration and am happy to at least now have my foot in the door.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

I agree with the other PPs. I just wanted to add, someone got hired onto my unit by speaking to the manager directly. It doesn't hurt to try.

I wish you the best!

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Hi,

Thanks everyone for responding. It sounds like I need to make some personal connections since I don't have experience. As far as finding the nurse manager. Do I just go up to the labor delivery floor and knock on the door? and then what do I say as far as why I want to see the manager? I am interested in labor and delivery? - Sorry I know this is probably a simple thing to do.

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I am with you on the dream job. My only experience is in geriatrics. I work for a hospital system though, dropped off my resume/cover letter and still got no response. My application was not considered. My next step is to call the dept and ask to leave a message (or get the email of) the nurse manager and write her/him. I was considering reducing my schedule where I'm at and pursuing lactation certification and some other CEU's to help me refresh my memories! Graduated in Dec 2008 - been working skilled or geriatric primary care ever since.

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Don't give up! I just landed my a dream OB job with only 2 years experience in an outpatient Derm clinic. The only downfall is it is 2.5 hrs away - but I am over the moon about the opportunity and consider the commute worth it.

So I would advise not to be afraid to search a distance away. For me (I live in the Bay Area) it was impossible to get an OB position nearby - I had the opportunity to speak to an OB unit manager at an amazing hospital nearby, and she basically told me it wasn't a matter of just picking the best candidates - it was a matter of picking "the best of the best". She told me that the majority of applicants were lactation consultants, doulas, had done preceptorships, internships AND externships in OB, etc... Needless to say I could see how I wasn't as competitive an applicant as I had hoped.

Another tip: take as many related classes/certs as you can (ie STABLE, NRP, AWHONN intermediate and advanced FHM). My manager specifically told me that she hired me because I had taken the initiative to pay out of my pocket for those classes.

Good luck!

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Okay, yes, I looked up STABLE but I will look up those other classes. Great advice, thanks GabesMommy2014!

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If you are in the Bay Area I highly recommend Perinatal Training Services (Kathryn McNitt). I took all of my OB classes through her- she is fantastic!

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In Oregon though! Thanks

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Specializes in L&D.

AWHONN intermediate and advanced fetal monitoring classes are for nurses with six or one year of experience in fetal monitoring. There is an online Basic class available at their website. Don't spend too much money trying to impress the manager.

Go go to the unit and talk to some of the staff nurses about the department and their needs. Maybe getting some breastfeeding certification wold be helpful. Every department says they want experienced nurses, but they wind up hiring some nurses without OB experience anyway. Apply for the job you want, that will get your toe in the door and give you more information about how to make yourself more attractive to them.

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NurseNora it's true that the AWHONN FHM intermediate and Advanced courses are meant for experienced RNs, but I was surprised to see many positions listing at the least the Intermediate course as a minimum requirement for applying...

While I think that having prior experience is really helpful for taking the intermediate course, you could still definitely learn a lot even if you don't have experience - it gives you a good start in building a good foundation of knowledge for work. And the place I took my courses allows you to retake them for free as often as you want within two years - so you can do a refresher course after you finally land the job :).

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